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London hotel hammer attacks: Philip Spence guilty | London hotel hammer attacks: Philip Spence guilty |
(35 minutes later) | |
A man who beat three sisters with a claw hammer in a London hotel while their children slept alongside them has been found guilty of attempted murder. | A man who beat three sisters with a claw hammer in a London hotel while their children slept alongside them has been found guilty of attempted murder. |
Philip Spence, 32, bludgeoned the trio from the United Arab Emirates in the Cumberland Hotel, Marble Arch, on 6 April, Southwark Crown Court heard. | |
Spence had admitted the attack, but denied attempted murder. | |
One of his victims was hit with such force her skull split open. She was not expected to make a full recovery. | |
'Lost eye' | |
Ohoud Al-Najjar, 34, was repeatedly hit as her nine-year-old nephew hid under the sheets next to her in bed, the prosecutor Simon Mayo QC said. | |
She survived the attack, but despite undergoing emergency neurosurgery she was left with just 5% brain function, can no longer speak and lost one eye. | |
Her sisters Khulood, 36, and Fatima, 31, were also left with life threatening injuries and are still having medical treatment. | |
The family was visiting London on holiday. | |
Thomas Efremi, 57, from Islington, was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary. | Thomas Efremi, 57, from Islington, was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary. |
Spence, from Harlesden in north-west London, was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary. | |
The judge told Spence he could face life in prison for the attacks. | |
Judge Anthony Leonard QC said: "You, Mr Spence, must realise that any sentence I impose is bound to be a very substantial sentence, subject to the report I receive." | |
The two men were remanded in custody and will be sentenced on 17 November at Southwark Crown Court. |